A New Legend Begins

From project launch to official launch – almost 600 days later and one of the country’s most renowned sporting venues opened for business.

Since the unveiling of the design for the redevelopment of Thomond Park on the 27th May 2006, rugby supporters have eagerly monitored the building progress of the stadium that has changed the skyline in Limerick forever. The 146 metre span of the new stands now creates a truly unique landmark for Limerick city, visible from far and wide. The people of Limerick and the Mid West Region now have a multi purpose venue to be proud of.

The Ultimate Venue
Despite the perception that the Stadium might only be a sporting venue, the level of business activity using the Conference and Banqueting facilities since it opened show the flexibility of the venue for commercial activity. In the past number of months the stadiums conference and banqueting facilities has hosted a number of business conferences, AGM’s, a sports seminar attracting 560 people, a technology fair, fashion shows and a number of Gala Balls. The multi purpose nature of the Stadium is best captured by the diversity of events over the course weekend when Thomond Park hosted the Ireland versus Canada international game catering for a hosting a 300 person gala ball, fashion show, international rugby match with full hospitality and musical concert in the space of 72 hours.

Conferences and events
When Thomond Park last welcomed the All Blacks in 1978, people watching from the ‘Popular Side’ or the ‘Ballynanty End’ could never have envisaged being able to attend meetings, conferences, concerts and weddings at the venue thirty years later. The Stadium can cater for any size conference or meetings. It is ideal for smaller off site meetings while over the past number of months the conference room has accommodated a regional sports seminar for 560 people and a national business conference for 300 people. Some of the countries best known companies have hosted management events and conferences attracted by the number of break out facilities, on site AV supports and the level of catering available at the venue. The conference room boasts the unique views for delegates overlooking the pitch while smaller meetings are catered for in the Corporate Hospitality boxes. If you or your company has any meeting or conference requirement Thomond Park Stadium has the facilities for you in an unrivalled setting.

Thomond Park Museum
The opening of the Thomond Park Museum by the All Blacks in November has provided the city with a wonderful new interactive visitor experience. The diverse nature of the museum ensures there is something of interest for everyone. Visitors will see a wide of memorabilia presented to Thomond Park by past and current players from jerseys, medals and even the padre pio picture Paul O’Connell used for the Heineken Cup final. The history of the famed stadium is celebrated with a number of unique audio visual presentations while the famous victory over the All Blacks is remembered with its own dedicated section. The museum also has an interactive element where aspiring Munster players can practice a range of skills and learn about what its take to be a professional rugby player from training tips to nutrition advice. The visit to the museum ends with a specially commissioned video presentation which captures so many of the great memories from Thomond Park.

Thomond Park Tours
Visitors to the stadium can now get unrivalled access to behind the scenes at one of the worlds most revered rugby grounds. The stadium tours will enable rugby supporters sample the atmosphere of the Thomond Park dressing rooms, walking out the famous tunnel, visiting the extensive new stadium facilities including sampling life in a corporate box and facing the media in the media room. The Thomond Park Stadium Tour also brings visitors around the interactive Stadium Museum to sample the history of the stadium and the success of Munster Rugby.

Media Impact of Thomond Park Stadium
One of the many benefits that the stadium will have on the city and region is the level of media exposure it will generate. From the day the first foundations were laid media requests have poured in from all around the world. From sports and news channels to television production companies looking to use Thomond Park as a backdrop for their productions the interest is incredible. The last number of months has been a hive of media activity attracting television crews from all the major UK television networks, European television stations and as far away as New Zealand. The Stadium will also appear as a new holiday option when in Limerick as part of the RTE ‘No Frontiers’ programme while Nationwide and the Autumn International Rugby preview programmes also featured extensive features on the new stadium.

The nature of media exposure is changing with so much online coverage not to mention the many viewings of the memorable build up to the All Blacks match in November. The last economic impact study of a Heineken Cup match calculated a value of in excess of €6 million for the level of media coverage generated. This value is calculated based on the potential tourism value it will generate in a region over the subsequent year. With so many large scale matches and events planned, Thomond Park Stadium will create a multiple of this figure based on the level of exposure these will generate on television, radio, print and online.


Thomond Park Stadium Board
We are fortunate that Munster Rugby brought together a tremendous Board who made everything happen under the Chairmanship of Pat Whelan. Board members such as Garrett Fitzgerald, Ken Lyons, Niall O’Driscoll, John Hartery, Martin Murphy and Pat Whelan himself have worked tirelessly to make this vision a reality and tremendous credit is due to all for their efforts. More importantly, all of the Board members are true Munster Rugby men, the majority representing their province at various stages and each have had a long involvement with Munster Rugby over the years. Great credit is due to their hard work, late nights and many meetings. Without their vision and hard work the Stadium would not have become a reality.


Partnership Approach
One of the successes in delivering the new Thomond Park Stadium has been the forging of so many strong working relationships over the course of the stadiums development. Thomond Park Stadium is indebted to so many, from Limerick City Council and local residents for their support and help in enabling the project get off the ground to the proactive board who drove the project. In order to realise the full potential of the venue Thomond Park will continue to work in partnership with so many businesses, organisations and bodies across the region. As a destination we are working closely with Shannon Development in the promotion of the stadium as another option for visitors to the region while also working closely with the local hotel and conference marketing groups. Many national conferences and events hosted in the stadium have already resulted in joint initiatives with accommodation providers with many promotions in the planning for 2009.


Regional Impact
Early indications suggest that the Stadium will have a major impact on the region’s economy through the diversity of events it will cater for. A number of major events have already been announced for 2009 with many more in planning which will be a welcome boost to the regional economy. The stadium is in advanced negotiations for a number of additional sports and entertainment events in addition to the Elton John and Rod Stewart concerts been hosted in association with Aitken promotions. An economic impact study conducted for Munster Rugby by BDO Simpson Xavier for a 12,000 capacity stadium generated almost €4 million for the local economy as a result of a Heineken Cup match last season.

The plans in place to develop the Stadium as a multi purpose event facility hosting other sporting events and concerts will make a significant economic contribution to the City and the wider Mid West region. In addition to generating employment opportunities within the Stadium it should also act as an economic catalyst for the area. Conservative estimates of the impact of the Elton John and Rod Stewart concerts suggest revenues of up to €18 million generated directly and indirectly from these events with over 40,000 expected to attend the shows. Since the stadium has opened the management team has been in the enviable position that national and international event promoters are approaching them with a variety of interesting event proposals that will ensure the venue and city is busy twelve months of the year hosting events.



Thomond Park Stadium – Key Features
Conference Room catering for up to 560 delegates, theatre style
Banqueting facilities for 500 people
20 smaller meeting rooms in Corporate Boxes
Full onsite catering for any scale of event
Complete state of the art AV supports and facilities
14 onsite bars and refreshment outlets
Match day corporate hospitality facilities
Stadium Tours
Thomond Park Stadium Museum
Munster Rugby Club Shop